Will European grants help the development of democracy in Tajikistan?

European Union will allocate nearly 2 million euros for the development of democracy in Tajikistan.

The European Union delegation in Tajikistan has announced a new call for proposals from civil society organizations to support actions promoting and protecting human rights, democracy, and fundamental freedoms.

According to the announcement, the European Union will allocate a total of 1 million 855 thousand euros under this call. Applicants can request a grant ranging from 300 thousand to 400 thousand euros.

The grant is intended for projects lasting no less than 24 months and no more than 36 months. The deadline for submitting a brief project concept is April 17, 2024.

The human rights situation in Tajikistan is dire. Earlier, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, repeatedly called on the Tajik authorities to release imprisoned human rights defenders and journalists.

At a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, she criticized the human rights situation in Tajikistan. According to her, during meetings with Tajik authorities, she repeatedly raised the issue of releasing human rights defenders and journalists, but to no avail.

Other high-ranking representatives of the EU and the UN have also repeatedly criticized the mass detentions of dissenters, journalists, and political opposition figures in Tajikistan, stating that “this process is not conducive to the democratization of society.”

The leader of the National Alliance of Tajikistan, Muhiddin Kabiri, noted in an interview with Azda TV that “the UN, the USA, the European Union, and international human rights organizations allocate millions in grants to Tajikistan every year to promote and protect human rights and develop democracy.”

“However, the main question is this: How much have all these funds and grants helped improve the situation with human rights and democracy in Tajikistan?” Kabiri questioned.

Kabiri pointed out that as a result, these two areas (human rights and democracy) in Tajikistan are deteriorating day by day.

According to the leader of the NAT, organizations and individuals receiving these grants in Tajikistan do not pay adequate attention to the fundamental issues of democracy and human rights.

“For example, organizations working in Dushanbe do not address the issues of the families of political prisoners, or, for instance, at this moment, there is increasing pressure on the relatives of the opposition in Tajikistan, as reported by the media, everyone knows about it. However, the organizations that receive so-called grants for promoting and protecting human rights and democracy pretend that they know nothing, as if it does not concern them at all,” Muhiddin Kabiri stated.